Hi Friends! I’m Natalie Mason. I live in Charleston, SC and I am mom to Sterling 12 , Frances Moon 8 and our mini golden doodle Dolly.

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Getting Down with Books.

Oct 29, 2012

As most of you know I am avid reader. I don’t have much time to read during the day but I love to get into bed with a good book.   I also love reading to Sterling.   Since he was little I made it a priority to make sure we read to him each night. I think that is how children learn to love books through their parents taking the time to sit down and read to them.  Every night Matt and I each read Sterling at least one book a piece and he always asks for us to read more when we are done, which makes me smile.

 Don’t worry I am not about to get all preachy in this post, although I do think it is important to read to kids and encourage them to read and use their imagination. 

 I thought it would be fun for me to share the last few books I have read and enjoyed also some of Sterling’s favorites in hopes that you would recommend some new ones for us. I need a great new book to curl up with at night , and I also would love to give Sterling a few new books for Christmas, so I need ideas!

Here are the last few books I have read.  I loved them in all different ways and would recommend each of them.  Gone Girl and Wild were two surprising favorites of mine out of the bunch because they are not the types of books I typically read.   They were both awesome!   As you can see I am all over the place with my reading choices.   So, please dish what have you read recently that I need to get my hands on??

Books. Word

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Here are a few recent favorites of Sterling’s that he insists on reading every night!  Any of these would make great gifts for little boys (or girls).   And yes we are already reading Christmas books round here:)  What other books are must haves for a soon to be three year old?

Kids Books

 

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While we are on the subject of books, oh how I dream of having a library in my house one day!  How amazing are these home libraries?  The book worm in me is swooning over all these beauties.

And because Christmas is right around the corner, here are a few coffee table books on my wishlist  I am hoping to add to my collection (hopefully Santa is reading).

Wish List Books

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So please help a sista out and recommend some books for me and my little man!

Happy Monday and almost Halloween!

Leave a Reply

  1. Lala says:

    I'm currently reading Once Upon A Secret, it's a true story about an affair JFK had with a White House intern. I'm not far enough into it to recommend, but it's pretty good so far. I need to get the pirates don't take baths book for my son. And I really have been meaning to read Gone Girl, glad to know it won't disappoint!

  2. Love that last library image. Nothing more beautiful than a copious amount of books. Love! I need some new reason material. Have not read in forever!

  3. GREAT POST!!! I love reading and make a point to always read with Wells and Tagg and tell them about how much I love to read. I'm turning our whole living room bookshelves over to books! I haven't read your whole list yet so this gives me some good ideas. I love the idea of giving them a book for every holiday too to keep them thinking books are fun!

  4. Pete the cat for sterling and if u can find it with the cd it's even more fantastic. My kindergarteners have been singing about Pete for weeks!

  5. Kara says:

    Pete the Cat is great and the discs with music to go along really make the stories. Also any of the Llama Llama books: Mad at Mama, Goes to School, Holiday Drama – all are super cute. My daughters have loved the "There was an Old Lady" books – Swallowed some Snow, Swallowed some Sand – the are all rhyming and cute. There is one for each season.

  6. I just read Paris Wife and it was fantastic, highly recommend!

  7. fep516 says:

    I completely agree with the Pete the Cat books – they are fantastic, especially with the song and video components. Another fun, interactive book is 'Press Here' – so fun!

  8. I have a bajillion coffee table books on my wish list too!! There are just so many great and beautiful options that it is hard for me to choose!!! XoXo

  9. Miss Beck says:

    I teach Pre-K and my kids love No, David! books by David Shannon. They scream with laughter over David's antics. Brown Bear, Brown Bear (Eric Carle) is also really popular and (my girl crush is also Gwynnie) you will love that she narrates the audio book. Other popular books are: Are you my mother?, The Rainbow Fish, and the ever popular Dr. Seuss books. For Halloween, my kids love The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything (let them stomp, clap, wiggle, shake, nod, and say woooooo! along with the story). 🙂

    I have to agree with Kara about Llama, llama, too – they loooove those.

    And my dream home also is filled with built in bookshelves. 🙂

  10. Sarah says:

    I completely agree that we are made readers in the laps of our parents. My mother would read to me every day, my father began teaching me to read when I was very young and I have been hooked ever since! I am a book worm! So glad to hear that people still take the time to read to their kiddos!

  11. Keep reading to your little man! But, I have to say, no matter how much you read to them they don't always develop a love for books! My husband and I are voracious readers (I read between 50-75 books a year) and when our teens were little we read ALL the time to them. They both had book shelves full of books and there is always reading material in our home. Would you believe that neither of them like to read? I am so disappointed and bewildered because I just knew they would love it as their dad and I do!

  12. Cannon says:

    I am reading The Paris Wife and am loving it!!!

  13. You are lucky you get away with 2 or 3 books for Sterling. I could sit and read to Keira for hours and she gets mad when I tell her I need to stop. Kids! :0)

    I love all your book suggestions. I've read all the same books you have recently.

  14. Kristina says:

    I too love reading to my daughter! You should read Katie Couric's "Best Advice I Ever Got." I am reading it now and it's so powerful!

  15. Revival says:

    We just rediscovered the Richard Scarry books and my son (2 yr old) loves them. So much to look at on each page with awesome illustrations. The library has a bunch, although I have most of them checked out right now 😉

  16. I love books so I love your posts about books.

    I just read Wife 22 which is pretty good its a little weird at first, and then all of a sudden the ending is like WOAH!

    I also just read Bond Girl which I thought was really good.

    I know my Mom read to me a lot as a kid and I always wanted here to read more – I loved a book called The Baby Blue Cat & the whole batch of cookies and Love you Forever is such a sweet book!

  17. B loves the bear books and Goodnight Construction Site. He says he wants to be a "job site manager" when he grows up…

  18. I definitely love to read, although it seems to be majorly on the backburner lately )c: I definitely love that series of all the "If you give a mouse a cookie"…I'm assuming that's where the dog one came from…and we *love* all the little critter books, they're so cute!

  19. LA says:

    I don't know if you have heard of Robert Munsch?? But they are awesome books for kids. I dare you to get through "I'll Love You Forever " without a few tears.

  20. Taylor says:

    i was dissapointed with where we belong 🙁 it was good but all of her books are normally so amazing so it felt like a let down! I need to figure out what to read next! just finished bossypants it was good (but obviously not as great as andy's!)

    http://itsthelittlethingsblog.blogspot.com

  21. betsysc says:

    I loved The Kitchen House, Moloka'i (you'll shed some tears, but they are worth it), & The Glass Castle. I love goodreads.com for new suggestions! For your son, some gender neutral ones my daughter loves are The Giving Tree, Dr Suess ABCs, & Green Eggs & Ham (I like to go old school!).

  22. Kelly says:

    Mo Willems is also a great author for kids. I loved "Knuffle Bunny" as much as my students and can't wait to read it to my son.

    I am excited to see what is suggested for you to read because I am needing a new book. Loved Andy Cohen's book for all the Bravo gossip. I wish there had been more!

  23. Suz Williams says:

    As far as kids books go, the books by Oliver Jeffers are divine. Stunning illustrations and quirky, heartfelt stories. I gift them as often as I can. I am reading "The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped Out The Window and Ran Away". It is as funny as its title and given it is written by a Swedish Author, it has a humour to it that you don't quite get that often.

  24. Brooke says:

    Love your dress! Love the Fleur De Lis glass! So pretty!

    =)

    Brooke

  25. Julian Booth says:

    I like hand made gifts its express your deep feelings which can make you more important and i always suggest all of you to make own gifts for make some one happy.

    Thanks a lot for sharing
    personalized christmas gifts

  26. Kelli says:

    Gillian Flynn's other books are pretty good too. Unbroken is a must read for everyone-a true WWII story that reads like fiction. You won't be able to put it down. Born to Run is another true story that is unbelievable!!

  27. Nikki Poole says:

    My girls love the "Knuffle Bunny" and "Llama Llama" series. They are great for little girls and boys and usually deal with issues that all kids deal with – bedtime, getting sick, sharing, etc.

  28. Unknown says:

    My children are grown but when they were around three we started with novels,mostly by EB White like Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan. A chapter a night, great for building vocabulary and stretching the attention span. Often they would drift off to the sound of my voice. Sigh.

  29. Alicia xoxxo says:

    I love to read. Anything and everything. loved Gone Girl! And another book I cant remember the name of but will find out for you, I bet you would like it. I read to Owen at night and my fave book to read to him is No Matter What.